New York City Mayoral Forum Program
Thank you for joining us this evening. Below you’ll find the list of candidates who are in attendance and their bios.
Candidates will be asked about their positions on a variety of civil rights, civil liberties, and good government issues, including immigration, policing, economic justice, criminal legal system reform, privacy and surveillance, protest rights, education, and racial and gender justice.
Program Schedule:
- 5:15pm | Doors
- 6:30pm | Forum Begins
- 7:30pm | Audience Questions
Adrienne Adams
Adrienne Eadie Adams is a mother, lifelong New Yorker, and proud daughter of Queens. She’s running for Mayor to make New York City safe, affordable, and accountable to the people because she knows what it means to serve, and she knows how to lead. As Speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne leads one of only six women-majority legislatures in the country and the most diverse Council in city history as its first Black Speaker. Under Adrienne’s leadership, the Council passed tough, meaningful reforms that advanced maternal and reproductive health, made housing more affordable, and expanded support for crime victims to stop crime and violence.
Dr. Selma Bartholmew
Dr. Selma Bartholmew – known as DrSelmaB – was born in Grenada, raised in Harlem and lives her values of faith, family, and fierce advocacy. She went off to college at 16, earned degrees in Math and Physics from Lehman, two master’s and a doctorate—while raising her son. From corporate boardrooms to classrooms, she’s led multimillion-dollar initiatives and founded her own MWBE-certified education firm during the 2008 recession. DrSelmaB has worked nationally across K-12, higher ed, and correctional systems to end the Social Reproduction of failure and build STEAM ecosystems rooted in excellence. Dr. Bartholomew is a visionary leader who challenges the status quo and uplifts communities. Her leadership is compassionate, strategic, and grounded in trust. A breast cancer survivor, boxing enthusiast, and woman of faith. She’s fighting for a future where all New Yorkers and children can thrive. Win Our Children and City Back!
Michael Blake
Michael Blake is a proud native of The Bronx whose faith drives his commitment to solving the True Cost of Living and Affordability crisis. As the only candidate who was a part of a team that defeated Trump and with his White House, state house and local experience, Michael Blake is running for Mayor to increase wages, build middle class affordable housing and ensure improved Public Safety, Transportation, Education and Health. A public servant, democracy and faith leader, former Assembly Member and White House aide to President Obama, Michael Blake is the youngest son of Jamaican immigrants. Mother Hilary is a retired 40-year factory worker and raised four boys. His late Father Headly was an 1199 SEIU maintenance supervisor at St. Barnabas Hospital. Michael is a small business owner and a devoted husband to Brooke, an attorney, and loving father of two daughters.
Brad Lander
Brad Lander is a dad, a Brooklynite, and a lifelong public servant who has spent his career solving New Yorkers problems – first as an affordable housing leader, then in the City Council, and now as NYC Comptroller. As Comptroller, Brad has shown the courage to stand up for what's right. He was the first public official to stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk when they stole $80 million in taxpayer money from our city, and he rejected Eric Adams’s no-bid contract that wasted $432 million in taxpayer money. He’ll stand up to anyone for New Yorkers and fight like hell to protect us from Donald Trump. As Mayor, Brad will bring honesty, public integrity, and competence back to City Hall. Brad’s top priorities as Mayor are to get seriously mentally ill people off the streets and subways and build affordable housing. Brad lives with his wife, Meg Barnette, in Brooklyn where they raised two children, Marek and Rosa, both of whom graduated from NYC public schools.
Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani is a New York State Assemblymember and democratic socialist running for Mayor. Born in Uganda and raised in New York City, he has fought for the working class in and outside the legislature: hunger striking alongside taxi drivers to achieve more than $450 million in transformative debt relief, winning over $100 million in the state budget for increased subway service and a successful fare-free bus pilot, and organizing New Yorkers to defeat a proposed dirty power plant. The cost of living is crushing working people but Zohran believes that government can lower costs and make life easier in our city — he’ll use every tool available to bring down the rent, create world class public transit, and make it easier to raise a family.
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie is a State Senator, attorney and housing advocate who is fighting to make New York affordable and livable for working class families. He is running for Mayor as a proud New Yorker, born and raised in Central Brooklyn and the son of Costa Rican immigrants. His legislative accomplishments include leading the passage of the landmark Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the John Lewis NY Voting Rights Act and the Clean Slate Act. Growing up in a rent-stabilized home, Myrie got his education at P.S. 161 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn Tech, Fordham University, and Cornell Law School.
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos is a dedicated public servant, a fierce advocate for working families, and a proud daughter of Colombian immigrants. Growing up in Astoria, she learned the values of hard work, community, and resilience from her parents, who faced every challenge with grit and determination.As a State Senator, Jessica has never shied away from a fight. She raised the minimum wage, led the charge to outlaw exploitative work practices, and secured over $2 billion in relief for excluded workers during the pandemic. Jessica knows what it means to step up in times of crisis, and she’s committed to making New York City a place where everyone can build a better life.
Scott Stringer
Scott is a lifelong New Yorker and proven reformer with a track record of winning for New Yorkers: protecting Mitchell-Lama residents as a community organizer, ending corrupt practices in the State Assembly, championing affordable housing and accountable government as Manhattan Borough President, and exposing waste and saving taxpayers billions as Comptroller. For Scott, making New York City work for families isn't just politics, it's personal: He and his wife Elyse are raising their sons in the city they love. As New York faces unprecedented challenges, Scott is ready to bring vision, competence, and experience back to City Hall.
Moderated by:
Ben Max
Ben Max is a veteran journalist who covers New York City and State politics, government, and public policy. He is Executive Editor and Program Director for the Center for New York City and State Law at New York Law School, where he edits publications, plans and moderates events, and hosts the Max Politics podcast, which features in-depth interviews with news- and policy-makers.
Prior to joining New York Law School, Ben was Executive Editor of Gotham Gazette for nearly 10 years, leading all aspects of the nonprofit publication covering city and state civic affairs. Before shifting to journalism, Ben worked in K-12 education for about a decade, including six as a high school history teacher. Ben has a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (CT) and a master's from Tufts University (MA). He grew up in Queens and lives in Brooklyn. He's on X at @TweetBenMax.
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